Month: September 2015

So often, the phrase outrage culture (or the outrage machine) is lobbed by conservatives or liberals toward advocates of social justice (SJWs) who speak out online about subjects that get them, well, outraged. I’ve yet to see the phrase defined in a consistent manner, but it is often deployed by those who think that SJWs are sitting around on their computers just waiting for the latest story to get outraged about. And when that story hits, critics say, these irate activists will take to social media to express their anger, disapproval, and/or frustration. They’ll feverishly type away at their computer to produce condemnatory screeds directed at their latest target-usually a public figure who has made statements they find questionable or offensive. In a way, that’s what happens. But the critics of outrage culture use the phrase derisively. They’re mocking people who-in their eyes-are looking for reasons to get offended. They’re complaining that the “delicate flowers who are permanently aroused” are limiting free speech. And they’re characterizing those who express their anger and frustration online as “[…] an increasingly reactionary mob of self-centered narcissists who all have their own personal lines drawn in the sand”. That last one was from an article at Time, in which the author attempts to minimize and dismiss the anger felt by online critics while also declaring them unable to focus on multiple topics. This post is an attempt on my part to both understand where the critics of outrage culture are coming from, as well as formulate my thoughts on why it is a good and necessary thing.

At a recent presidential candidate forum, former Republican presidential hopeful Scott Walker was asked about police brutality and racial inequities. Rather than address any of the numerous examples of excessive force used by police against unarmed civilians, or how racial prejudice may play into many such incidents, Walker decided instead to express his unequivocal support for police officers:

“Do we have an issue in this country that we have to deal with when it comes to race? Absolutely,”he said. “But we shouldn’t confuse that into somehow thinking that that means we shouldn’t treat our law enforcement professionals as the great men and women that they are.”

He continued, refusing to admit that any of the officers involved in the recent, high-profile deadly shootings may have made a mistake. Instead, he told the story of Deputy Darren H. Goforth, a police officer who was killed in Texas earlier this year.

“Every leader we have — at the local level, the state level, all the way up to the president of the United States, for that matter anyone in the clergy and business and anywhere else — needs to step up and say that is wrong,” he said. “The men and women who wear the badge are doing the right thing, every day. All the time. they protect us. We need to have their back. As president, I will have their back every single day.”

In the United States Scott Walker apparently lives in, all law enforcement officials are good, morally upstanding individuals with integrity and compassion and an unwavering devotion to upholding the law. To him, police officers are entitled to respect and obeisance on the basis of nothing more than their position, regardless of their actions. Such thinking marks Walker as a multiply-privileged, empathy-deficient, authoritarian out of touch with the lives of many of the U.S. citizens he once sought to preside over. Authoritarian, because blind obedience to law enforcement officials is a textbook example of authoritarianism. Empathy-deficient, because Walker does not live in a vacuum. As a political official, it strains belief to think he hasn’t heard of the multiple high profile cases of police officers shooting unarmed or fleeing suspects. No, he’s heard of them. He simply doesn’t care about the people that have been injured and killed by cops. And multiply-privileged because as a white, heterosexual, cisgender male politician, he is highly unlikely to ever be the victim of police brutality.

For those of us who do not live in Scott Walker’s USAmerica, the experience is quite a bit different. We are aware of the existence of law-abiding, ethical, law enforcement officials who live up to the responsibilities of their job and do not abuse their power. Unlike Scott Walker, however, we also know that law enforcement agencies across the country are infested with morally bankrupt, unethical, corrupt, tyrannical thugs. How do we know these things? Because we have gifts Walker does not. We have the superhuman ability [and desire] to pay attention to stories of police brutality and abuse of power. Stories like the following five:

See that guy above? That’s T’Challa, aka the Black Panther. He’s a fictional superhero/monarch residing in the Marvel Universe. He’s the king of a Wakanda, a scientifically advanced African nation, a member of the Avengers, a scientific genius, and the first black superhero in mainstream USAmerican comics. In 2018, he’ll be the first major black Marvel Comics superhero (Blade is neither major nor a superhero) to receive his own theatrical film.

See that guy? That’s Ta-Nehisi Coates, a USAmerican writer, journalist, and educator. He is the National Correspondent for The Atlantic, where he writes about cultural, social, and political issues, particularly where those issues intersect the lives of African-Americans.

Know what Black Panther and Ta-Nehisi Coates have in common? In a tremendous win for the company, Coates will soon be writing the adventures of the Black Panther in an all-new ongoing series from Marvel Comics:

This is 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed, a talented 9th grader living in Irving, Texas. The gifted student felt like his teachers were unaware of how skilled he was and wanted to impress them. So he created a simple electronic clock. In 20 minutes. Yeah, the kid has mad skills. Naturally, when he brought the clock to school with him on Monday, he was praised for his work and encouraged to continue developing his skills. No. Wait. That didn’t happen. Instead, he was arrested on suspicion of building a bomb:

Ah, victim blaming. One of the most ubiquitous manifestations of Rape Culture. Whether its blaming rape victims for their sexual assault due to their clothing, level of sobriety, flirtatiousness, or the company they keep, victim blaming can take on many forms. It is horrible because rape occurs regardless of how much or how little clothing a victim wears, their level of sobriety, how much they flirt, or who they choose to associate with. This is because the only person who can decide whether or not a rape will happen is a rapist. Victims have no control over the actions of a rapist. On its own, blaming a rape victim for their assault is horrible enough because it shifts the blame for the sexual assault from the rapist to the victim. Some rape victims have to endure victim blaming on top of another level of social humiliation: slut-shaming.

Ah, victim blaming. One of the most ubiquitous manifestations of Rape Culture. Whether its blaming rape victims for their sexual assault due to their clothing, level of sobriety, flirtatiousness, or the company they keep, victim blaming can take on many forms. It is horrible because rape occurs regardless of how much or how little clothing a victim wears, their level of sobriety, how much they flirt, or who they choose to associate with. This is because the only person who can decide whether or not a rape will happen is a rapist. Victims have no control over the actions of a rapist. On its own, blaming a rape victim for their assault is horrible enough because it shifts the blame for the sexual assault from the rapist to the victim. Some rape victims have to endure victim blaming on top of another level of social humiliation: slut-shaming.

Hey ya’ll. I have some news. You may want to sit down for this bc I suspect it will be shocking. In a case of mistaken ‘black guys all look the same, so we don’t have to double-check his identity before we introduce his face to the pavement‘ identity, some cops in New York roughed up 35-year-old former tennis player James Blake.

CHARLES KRUPA/AP James Blake, seen here during his match against Marcel Granollers at the 2012 U.S. Open, calls the incident ‘definitely scary and definitely crazy.’

Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has been all over the news recently for her repeated refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Last week, Federal Judge David Bunning ruled that Davis was in contempt of court and ordered federal marshals to take her into custody. While she was in custody, five of the six deputy clerks who work under Davis agreed to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples (with the exception of, surprise surprise, Davis’ son). She remained in jail until Tuesday, when Judge Bunning ordered her conditional release:

So there’s this movie coming out later this year. You might have heard of it. It’s part VII in the Star Wars saga and it is set to roll out in theaters on 12/18/15 (two days after my big ’40’). I’m not the world’s biggest Star Wars fan, but I do still enjoy the mythology. I agree with many fans that Episode V is the best of the bunch, I despise Jar Jar Binks with the fiery passion of three exploding stars, I’m not a fan of the Ewoks, I love me some Darth Maul, I think Han shot first, and I liked Episode III. I’ve noticed more and more Star Wars articles and pop culture merchandise lately. I’m not sure if that’s bc there actually is more Star Wars stuff out there, or if it’s observational selection bias on my part (honestly, I think the latter is the case)*. In any case, I wanted to highlight some of the interesting Star Wars related material I’ve seen around the net: